Internal-combustion engine.



W. D. EDWARDS.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGHS 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1*.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

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W. D. EDWARDS.

.INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-'3. |912.

Patented Dea. 19, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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w. D. EDWARDS. IN'IEH'NIII.l COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 'AUG- 3'1912.

Patented Deo. 19, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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W. n. EDWARDS. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3.1912.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4. l

a @YQ WITN ESSES INV W. D. EDWARDS.

INTERNALCOMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILI-:D AuG.3. 1912.

www3., IaIenIeI me. 19,1916;

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

/f II e III I Il, IIIII-I I II I III II I wILLIAim D. EDWARDS, orPORTLAND, OREGON.

INTEBNAL-COMBUSTIQN ENGINE.

Speel-mation ot Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 19, 1916.

Application mea August s, 1912. serial No. 713,032.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, county of Multnomah, State of Oregon, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Internal-CombustionEngines, anddeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanyingI drawings, which form apart of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a novel form of internalcombustion engine lin which there will be available for compression asupply o-f fresh air which'is independent of the size of the enginecylinder or of the piston displacement.

A further object of my invention is to produce a novel form of internalcombustion engine from which the products of combustion will be fullyexpelled after each ex- V plosion.

A further object of my invention is ,to produce a novel form of enginein which the various walls bounding the combustion and expansion chamberwill be kept clean and cool.

A further object of myinvention is to produce a novel construction andarrangement in which the incoming charge will be automatically heatedprior to the compression of the same and, inbecoming heated, producing acooling influence upon the working parts.

A further object of my invention is to produce a simple and novelinternal combustion engine which will give a plurality of impulsesduring each revolution of the crank shaft.

A further object of my invention is to produce a double-acting internalcombustion engine in which there'is no piston rod or correspoding partextending through and working in a hea-d at either end of a combustionchamber.

A further object of my invention is to produce an internal combustionengine in which the greater portion of the spent gases escapes through apiston-controlled port at the end of the working stroke while a second,valve-controlled port is provided for obtaining a linal scavengingeffect.

A further object of my invention is to produce an engine into which fuelmay be injected inthe form of a liquid, preferably 1n atomized state,and be vaporized `before final compression.

A further object of my invention i's to produce an internal combustionengine having a movable cylinder which is self-cooling. The variousfeatures of novelty whereby my invention is characterized willhereinafter` be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for af ull understanding of.

my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had tothe fol'- lowing detailed description taken inconnection with .thelaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 isa side elevation of an engine arranged in accordance with apreferred form of my invention, parts of the base and crank chamberbeing broken away; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section in a plane atright angles to the plane of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a central verticalsection 4taken at' right angles to the plane of Fig. 2,.the crank shaftbeing in a slightly dilferent` position than in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig.,4 isa Ysection on a somewhat larger' scale of the piston and cylinder and ofthe engine, the plane being the same as thatl of Fig. 3 but the partsbeingshown at a different point in the cycle than in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 isa. section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a transverse section throughone of the cylinders on line 6-6 of Fig. 45; Figs. 7, -8, 9 and 10 arediagrams illustrating various stages in a complete cycle; l:and Figs.11, 12 and 13 are side elevations of a part of the engine illustratingFthe conditions of the valves on a movable cylinder or plunger at pointslin the cycle corresponding to the conditions illustrated in Figs. 8, 9and 10 respectively.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a stationary casing having atthe lower end a crank chamber 2 and above the crank chamber 2 cylinders,3 and 4, the two cylinders being in axial alinement with each other andopen at the ends nearest to each other. The casing is cut away o'n twoof the sides between the two cylinders as indicated at 5 in Fig. l, thusleaving a space through -which may `project trunnions carried by the`movable plunger to be hereinafter described.

, spectively.

pistons of a double-acting engine. Detachably mounted in each of theprojections 6 is a member 9 having an intermediate portion smaller indiameter than the interior of theprojection and end portions whichcooperate with the projection to make a closed annular chamber. Each ofthe members 9 is made hollow and closed at one end, the upper memberbeing closed at the upper end and the lower member at the lower end; theother ends of these members being open so as to leave within the innerend of each of the stationary piston members a chamber of any desiredsize and shape, these chambers being indicated at l0 and 11. By makingthemembers 9 detachable, preferably b v anl axial movement in theoutward direction, they can readily be removed andreplaced in order tovary the size and shape of the chambers 10 and l1. IVithin the annularspace between the members 9 and the walls of the stationary pistons Iintroduce cooling water in any suitable way, thus keeping the walls ofthe pistons and the walls of the chambers 10 and 11 cool.

In the two cylinders 3 and 4 is mounted an elongated hollow plunger 13having a transverse partition 1 4 midway between its ends. is the sameas the interior diameter of the cylinders 3 and 4 while the interiordiameter of the plunger corresponds to the external diameter of thestationary pistons 6. In this way the plunger may be said to Comprisetwo movable cylinders coperating with two stationary pistons and alsotwo movable pistons operating in the annular chambers 7 and 8. It is notnecessary that the plunger be shaped throughout its entire length to fitinto the cylinders since it is enough to have a short cylindricalportion at each end of the plunger; and I therefore utilize theintermediate portion of the plunger to provide for automatic cooling.`This I accomplish by forming on the plunger a series of thin wide ribsor vanes 13a whichpresent a large radiating surface movable back andforth through the surrounding atmosphere as the plunger is operated.

The plunger is connected to a suitable crank shaft 15 mounted in thecrank casing in any suitable way. In the arrangement shown, I haveprovided the crank shaft with two cranks 16, a connecting rod 17extending ,up beside the cylinder 4 from each of the crank pins andconnected at its upper end to a transverse trunnion or shaft 18 carriedat the center of the plunger and projecting out through the openings 5in the casing.

At one side of the casing between the inner ends of the two cylinders 3and 4 is a channel or passage 19 from which extends an exhaust pipe 20.Theupper end of the The projections 6 serve as the- The exteriordiameter of the plunger passage 19 opens into the annular chamber 7through a port 2l which is ust below the upper end of the plunger whenthe plunger is down.v Similar-lv; the passage 19 communicates at itslower end with the annular chamber 8 through a port 22 which lies justabove the lower end of the plunger when the plunger is up. The innerwall of the passage 19 is cut away at the center as .indicated at 23 sothat throughout this portion of its length the passage is closed on theinner side by the plunger.` The plunger is provided at each end with apassage extending through theI same as indicated at 24 and 25; thepassages beingso arranged that when the plunger is down the passage 24connects lthe chamber 2G in the upper end of the plun- `ger with thepassage 19 through the port 21, and the passage 25 connects the chamber27 with the exhaust passage through port 22 when the plunger is up. Theupper end of the chamber 7 and the lower end of the chamber 8 is eachprovided with a valve port as indicated at 28 and 29 respectively. Theseports serve to admit air or a mixture of air and fuel into the chambersas will hereinafter be described. The valves for controlling the inletports may take various forms but I prefer to employ cylindrical valvespreferably in the form of hollow cylinders as indicated at 30 and 31respectively. Each valve has a port 32 through one side so that in apredetermined angular position the interior thereof is in opencommunication with the port -which it controls, while in other angularpositions the port is closed. In the plunger are two longitudinalpassages 33 and 34, the former leading from the upper end of the plungerto the .partition 14 and the other leading from the lower end of theplunger to a corresponding point in the partition. The upper end of thepassage 33 is open and the lower end of the passage 34 is also open sothat there is always free communication between each of the passages andthe annular chamber within which the corresponding end of the plungermoves. At the point where the passages 33 and 34 reach the partition 14isa valve 35, preferably a 'rotary valve, and in the. partition adjacentto this valve are two ports 36 and 37, the one leading from the valveinto the chamber 26 and the other leading from the valve into thechamber 27. The parts are so proportioned that in one position of thevalve 35 the passage 33 is connected to the port 36 while in anotherposition of the valve the .passage 34 is connected to the port 37; eachpassage being shut off from thecorresponding port when the other passageis in communication with its port.V

valve 3.8 serves vto exhaust both of the cham-l bers.

In some cases -I propose to introduce a combustible independently ofthemain inlet ports controlled by the valves 30,a'nd 31, it being quitefeasible to do so because the combustible charge flowingl into either ofthe chambers 26 and 27 must pass through one of the long passages 33 and34 and thus have its temperature raised. This makes it' possible tointroduce a combustible in the form of a spray which will becomevaporized in the passages 33 and 34 soas to enter the chambers 26 and 27in a gaseous state. To this end I insert through the main cylinder headselongated tubes 42 and 43, the4 first of which projects down into thepassage 33 and the other up into the passage 34.I A liquid combustiblemay be forced through the tubes 42 and 43 in any suitable manner and besprayed into the passages 33 and 34 where it comes in contact with'thehot walls and is vaporized.

The valves 30 and 31 may be operated in any suitable way from the crankshaft so as to be oscillated in proper time relation to the movement ofthe plunger. The valves 35 and 38 may also be operated in any suitableway. In the arrangement shown, I have mounted on one of the crank pinsan eccentric 44 whose center is a short-distance behind the center ofthe crank pin. In they drawings the center of the crank pins isindicated at 45 and the center of the eccentric at 46. The valve 35 hasat one end a radial arm 47 to the outer end of which is connected oneend of an eccentric rod 48 which has at the other end a` suitable strapvat one end, one arm 50 extending down past the arm 47 on the valve 35and being adapted to be engaged by a cam projection 51 on this arm. 'Iheother two arms, 52, of the g spider are connected to tension springs 53which, when free to do so, bring the valve into its closed position:that is the position in which both of the ports 39 and 40 are closed. Inoperation, the valve 35 is oscil- C lated by the eccentric rod and, inoscillating, it carries with it the arm 50 of the valve 38 until a pointis reached where the end of this arm snaps past the cam projection 51,allowing the valve 38 to assume its normal closed position, This actiontakes place rin both directions, the arm 50 being carried to one side ofthe center when the valve 35 oscillates in -one direction and beingcari-led to the opposite side when the valve 35 is moved in the otherdirection.

The charge in'each of the cylinders may be ignited in any suitable wayas, for example, by means of spark plugs 55 and 56 extending into thechambers 10 and 11.

I prefer to provide cooling means for the valves 35 and 38 and to thisend I make `them hollow and circulate a current .of water through themin the manner best shown in Fi s. 1 and 5. The valves are mounted incyllndrical bores in the partition member of the plunger so that theymay be suitably actuated by means of short shafts 60 and 61, projectingfrom corresponding ends thereof and carrying the actuating arm andspider. Into the opposite ends of the valves extend two tubes 62 and 63,respectively, these tubes extending out beyond the side of the plungerwhere they are connected to two downwardly extending tubes 64 and,65.The tubes 64 and 65 project into stationary casings or chambers 66 and67 the first of which opens at the bottom into a discharge pipe 68having'a check valve 69, while the other chamber communicates at itslower end with a suction pipe 70 containing a check valve 71. As the'plunger descends, the check valve 71 prevents a back flow through thesupply pipe 70, so that water is forced up through the tube 65, throughthe tube 63, intothe valve 38 and, after circulating through the valve,back through aA lpassage 1-2 in the side of the plunger, into andthrough the valve 35 and then out through the tube 62 land down throughthe tube 64 into the discharge pipe. As the plunger rises, back-flowfrom the discharge side is' prevented by the check valve 69 andtherefore water will .besucked in through thesupply pipe 70 so as tofill the system again.

In describing the operation of the engine I shall refer to the strokewhich carries the plunger into the chamber 7 as the outstroke and to themovement in the opposite direction as the in-stroke.

'The operation is as follows: In Fig. 7 the plunger is shownjust at thebeginning of its out-stroke, the valve 31 being open so that air or amixture of air a-nd combustible may flow into thechamber 8 behind theplunger. The valve 35 is in the position which leaves the passage 33 incommunication with the plunger starts on its in-stroke.

in Fig. 7, sweeps along the walls'at one side of the chamber 2G and thechamber 10 and back along the opposite sides to the scavenging valvewhere it enters the exhaust pipe. Thus the chambers 10 and 2G will beeffectually cleared of all spent gases. As the plunger moves out, thissweep of air through the chambers 10 and 2G continues and air continuesto be drawn in through the valve 31 into the chamber 8. When the partsreach the position shown in Fig. 8 the scavenging valve closes. Fig. l1shows the relation of the valve actuating meansat the instant the crankreaches the position shown in Fig. 8 and ust before the arm 50 on thescavenging valve snaps past the projection 51. At this point the arm 50is released so that the valve 3S assumes the position shown in Fig. 12and in Fig. 8. The further outward movement oi' the plunger now causesthe charge in the chamber 7 and in the chambers 26 and 10 tc becompressed, the valve 35 gradually closing until the position indicatedin Figs. 9 and 12 is reached, at which point the valve 35 is just readyto close and the continued outward movement of the plunger thencompresses the charge contained in the chambers- 26 and 10 into thechamber 10 which thus constitutes the clearance space for this half ofthe engine. The charge is now fired and gives a power impulse on theinf'stroke.

After the crank has passed the center, the.

valve 35 keeps moving in the same direction as before, passes itsneutral position, and begins to open, carrying'with it the scavengingvalve 38 as indicated in Figs. 10 and 13. It will be seen that in Fig. 9the exhaust passage 25 in the inner end of the plunger is just aboutready to come opposite the inner end of the exhaust passage 19 so thatthe spent charge in the chambers 11 and 27 is almost completelyexhausted, before the Furthermore, just as the plunger begins itsin-stroke, the valve 31 is closed and the valve 30 is opened so that anew charge is drawn into the annular chamber 7 and the charge which haspreviously been drawn into the chamber 8 now begins to ilow through thepassage 34, past the valve 35 and into the chambers 27 and 11 asindicated in Fig. 10; the charge sweeping along the walls of thechambers 27 and 11 and passing out through the scavenging valve, so thatthe remnant of spent gases remaining in the chambers 27 and 11 aredriven out and the walls of these chambers-are cleaned and cooled. Thiscondition continues until the parts assume the positions indicated inFigs. 10 and 13 and, after a small further angular movement, thescavenging valve is again released and snaps back to its normalposition. Just as the plunger is completing its in-stroke, the passage24 in the outer end thereof comes opposite the inlet port into theexhaust passage 'gins to move in the 'direction to open the port 36 andcarries with it the scavenging valve as indicated in Fig. 7.

It will thus be seen that a power impulse is obtained during eachstroke, there being two power impulses during each revolution of thecrank shaft. Furthermore, the coinbustion and expansion chambers arethoroughly cleared of spent gases, and the walls of the chambers arecleaned and cooled after each explosion. The walls ofthe stationarypistons and of the clearance chambers therein may be efectually cooledby the circulating medium between them. Each charge, as it enters thecombustion and expansion chambers, passes through a long passage in theplunger so that it extracts heat from the plunger, raising its owntemperature and lowering that of the plunger. It will also be seen thatthe main valves carried by the plunger are kept reasonably cool so thatthey will be reliable in operation and have a long life. It will also beseen that if it is desired to change the size or shape of the clearancechambers, the members 9 may readily be removed without disturbing theother parts of the engine and may be replaced by other 10o membershaving clearance chambers of the desired size and shape. It will also beseen that there are no bearings for the movable plunger except thecylinders 3 and 4 and the stationary pistons, making the constructionextremely simple and ecient.

While I have illustrated and described only a single preferred form ofmyinvention, I do not desire to be limited to the particular structuraldetails thusV illustrated and described; but intend to cover all formsand arrangements which fall `within the terms employed in thedefinitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an engine, a cylinder, a stationary piston projecting inwardlyfrom the head of said cylinder, a hollow plunger movable in saidcylinderand fitting around said pis- .ton and said plunger having apassage exinterior lthereof into two'chambers, a power transmittingdevice connected to said plunger, a fuel inlet valve carried by saidplunger for 'admitting combustible into either of said chambers. v

3. In an engine, two stationary 'alined piston members, a hollow plungerfitting at its ends about said piston members, said plunger having atransverse partition across the Same at the center so as to divide theinterior thereof into two chambers, a power transmitting deviceconnectedto said plunger, a fuel inlet valve carried by said plunger foradmitting combustible into either of said chambers, and means forconnecting either of said chambers to atmosphere.

4. In an engine, a member having two alined pistons fixed relative toeach other, a member having two alined cylinders fixed relative to eachother, each of said pistons Fitting into one of said cylinders, a powertransmitting device connected to one of said members, a fuel-inlet valvecarried by the member to which the power transmitting device isconnected, an exhaust valve also carried by the latter member, each ofsaid valves having a neutral position and two operative positions, meanstending to hold theY exhaust Ivalve in its neutral position, means foractuating the inlet valve, and

- means associated with the inlet valve for causingthe exhaust valve tomove with it from the neutral position into each operative position andto be released in the operaf tive position.

5. In an engine, a cylinder, a hollow stationary piston projectinginwardly from the head of said cylinder, a member extending through saidhead and detach'ably mounted in said piston and forming therewith aclosed chamber extending substantially throughout the entire length ofthe piston, a cooling medium in sa id chamber, and a hollow plungermovable in said cylinder and tting around said piston.

6. In an engine, a cylinder, a hollow stationary piston projectinginwardly from the head of said cylinder, a member extending through saidhead and detachably mounted in said piston and forming therewith aclosed chamber extending substantially throughout the entire length ofthe piston, a cooling medium in said chamber, and a hollow plungermovable in said cylinder and fitting around said piston, said memberhaving a chamber opening out of the innerend of the piston to form aclearance space and combustion chamber for the engine.

7 In an engine, two open-ended cylinders having their open ends facingeach other, stationary pistons in said cylinders` a hollow plungerfitting at its ends in the spaces between the plstons and the cylinders,said plunger having a transverse partition-.between its ends to dividethe interior thereof into two separate chambers, inlet valves forcontrolling ports leading mto sald ger, and a valve for controllingcomunica-v tlon between each of 'said chambers and the correspondingpassage. v

8. In an engine, two open-ended cylinders having their yopen ends facingeach other, stationary pistons in said cylinders, a hollow plungerfittingat its ends in the spaces between the pistons and the cylinders,said plunger having a transverse partition between its ends to dividethe interior thereof into two separate chambers, inlet valves forcontrolling ports leading into said cylinders, a passageway extendingfrom each end of the plunger through one wall thereof and communicatingat its inner end with the corresponding chamber in the plunger, and asingle rotary valve for controlling communication between each of saidchambers and the corresponding passage.

9. In an engine, two open-ended cylinders low plunger fitting at itsends in the spaces' between the pistons and the cylinders, said plungerhaving a transverse partition between its ends to divide the interiorthereof into two separate chambers, inlet valves for controlling portsleading into said cylinders, a passageway extending from each end of theplunger through one'wall thereof and communicating at its inner end withthe corresponding chamber in the plunger, a valve for controllingcommunication between each of said chambers and the correspondingpassage, said plunger having an exhaust port provided with branches'leading into both of said chambers, and a valve for controllingcommunication between theexhaust port and said branches.

10. In an engine, two open-ended cylinders having their open ends facingeach other, stationary pistons in said cylinders, a hollow plungerfitting at its ends in the spaces between the pistons and the cylinders,said plunger having a transverse partition between its vends to dividethe interior gle rotary valve for controlling communication between eachofsaid chambers and the corresponding passage, said plunger having anexhaust port provided with branches leading into both of said chambers,and a single rotary valve for controlling communication' between theexhaust port and said branches.

11. In an engine, two open-ended cylinders having their open ends facingeach other, stationary pistons in said cylinders, a hollow plungerfitting at its ends in the spaces between the pistons and the cylinders,said plunger having a transverse partition between its ends to dividethe interior thereof into two separate chambers, inlet valves forcontrolling ports leading into the cylinders, passages connecting theinterior of the cylinders with the corresponding Chambers in theplunger, and valves controlling said passages.

l2. In an engine, a cylinder, a stationary piston projecting inwardlyfrom one end of 4 the cylinder, a hollow plunger fitting at its end inthe space between the piston and the vcylinder, an inlet valvecontrolling a port leading into said cylinder, a passageway extendingfrom the interior of the cylinder around the piston through the plungerand communicating with the interior of the plunger, and a valve' forcontrolling said passage.

13. In an engine, a cylinder member, a stationary piston projectinginwardly from one end of the cylinder member,- a hollow plunger memberfitting in the space between the piston and the cylinder, an inlet valvefor controlling a port leading into the cylinder, a passageway extendingbetween the interior of the cylinder member to the interior of theplunger member, one of said A, i Lacasse members having an exhaust portcontrolled` by the other member'for permitting the exhaust of thegreater portion of the products oi combustion, one of said membershaving a scavenging port, a valve for controlling the latter port, andmeans for producing a flow of air along the combustion and expansionchamber toward said scavenging port.

14. In an engine, two open-ended cylinders having their open ends facingtoward each other, stationary pistons in said cylinders, a hollowplunger fitting at its ends into the spaces between the pistons and 'thecylinders and constituting two annular compression pistons operating insaid spaces, said plunger having between its ends a transverse partitionseparating the interior thereof into two chambers, means for admittingair to be compressed into said cylinders, there being an exhaust passageleading from each of the chambers in said plunger to atmosphere, valvescontro-lling said exhaust passages, and means for placing each of saidcylinders in communication with the corresponding chamber in the plungerwhile the corresponding exhaust valve is open.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specilication in the presenceof twowitnesses.

WILLIAM D. EDWARDS.

Witnesses: y

J. A. CURREY, I. B. BANISTER.

